


Sleep is for the Weak

by Hammertimexx (orphan_account)



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: ? - Freeform, Angst as well, F/M, M/M, Maybe Jack/Ryan, Mentions of Blood, and fire, but otherwise nothing too horrible, that probably should be mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-04
Updated: 2013-11-04
Packaged: 2017-12-31 11:25:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1031140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Hammertimexx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one should ever listen to Gavin's suggestions. Ever. </p><p>(Written by: Hammer)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep is for the Weak

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, Hammer here~ This is my first Roosterteeth fic, and I think it's kind of obvious to say that I don't have any rights to them. This started out as a Mavin fic but suddenly Joelay, I don't know what happened.

"Dude, fuck the Midwest, this place sucks." Michael watched another cornfield fly by his window as his fists clenched on the wheel. There was nothing out here. Absolutely fucking nothing. Oh, wait, that was a lie. Every few thousand feet, there may be a farm. And field after field of fucking corn.

Perfect. 

Michael had always been one for crowds. Sure, he wasn't necessarily a people person, but he would prefer being stuck in a building full of people than being given a huge space just to be in alone. It all seemed vaguely creepy, the silence and space. Yet here he was, driving through God Knows Where and feeling miserable as hell. Not to mention that the only company he had was Gavin, who seemed to love everything about the place.

"How can you hate this? It's perfect! It's warm but not humid, and there's so much room, and-" Letting out a sigh, Gavin just smiled. "It's brilliant. You can look around and actually see things, not just another building every two bloody feet."

Rolling his eyes, Michael dropped his gaze to the back of Joel's car, watching as Ray's hand popped out and flipped them off. "Kill me now," he muttered, dropping his forehead against the steering wheel. "What is there to fucking see?! We've seen fifteen cow farms, a fuck ton of barns, and a bunch of birds. That is literally it. This place has nothing to offer to the United States. Hell, we probably would have given it to fucking Canada or something if it wasn't right down the fucking middle of the country." 

"I like it! You could go out here and just get lost, it's wonderful. There's no noise from the city, or cars, it's quiet."

"You know what Gavin? Be my fucking guest. Go get lost in the cornfields. They'll find your body when they harvest all this shit." 

Gavin just raised an eyebrow, blinking a few times. They'd been driving for nearly 14 hours, having left Austin at five in the morning. They were currently on their way to meet the rest of the Roosterteeth employees at a convention being held in North Dakota. It had started out as just an idea, but after a few months Gus decided that they should 'stay connected' with their fan base and set up the location. They were also having a convention in New York and California, but those weren't for months. Everyone had left a day or two ago, but the Achievement Hunters had pulled an all nighter to get out the last of their material before crashing and waking up to dozens of worried texts and even more missed calls. Joel had been camping out with them, working on a few tidbits for RvB and most of all just talking with them. The guys never really got to hang out, so the night didn't turn out to be total waste. So, after managing to drag themselves out of bed, all the boys packed up and set off, Joel and Ray in one car with luggage, Michael and Gavin in the car with the merchandise that Burnie had asked them to grab, and Geoff, Jack and Ryan in the last car. The trip had been decent up until Michael began getting even more pissy than usual. And if the texts Ray and Jack were sending were any proof, so were Joel and Geoff. Falling quiet, Gavin opened up his maps page, tapping away as Michael's eyes followed the road.

After a few minutes of silence, he heard Gavin speak. 

"Ray? Tell Joel to take the next exit off to the right, alright? No, you pleb, don't ask why, just do it." Silence for a moment. Michael looked up to see Gavin with both of his eyebrows raised, his phone pressed tightly against his ear. "Tell him he can bugger off, and turn the wheel yourself!" Michael watched as Joel's car slammed on the breaks before taking a harsh right, earning a goofy grin from the Brit. "Good. Now go down that stretch for a few miles, and pull into the hotel there. It's a nice one too, so don't worry about Joel's cleanliness deal." He pulled the phone away from his ear as Joel started yelling from the other side. It took nearly two minutes before Joel stopped long enough to take a breath before Gavin had a chance to yell out, "GOD IT'S NOT THAT MUCH MORE. I'LL PAY JUST PULL OVER." 

"Gavin, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Michael asked, making sure he followed Joel closely. From the rear view, he watched Geoff follow suit. 

"I'm letting you lot rest up so you don't bloody kill us," he answered honestly, answering his phone as Jack called. "Heyo." 

Again, there was some garbled mess that Michael couldn't make out before Gavin let out a loud laugh, his head falling forward. "Yeah, thanks mate, I'll remember that one. We're just resting up for the night, it seems that everyone's getting a bit pissy."

Gavin continued to chat as Michael let out a groan, leaning dramatically over the steering wheel in boredom. Soon enough, there was the top of a building in sight, and after that, the sight of a small town. Not much, just some houses, but they looked nice enough. Green lawns, patios and a small supermarket, the works. Watching as Joel pulled into a spot before slamming on his brakes, Michael pulled in next to him, getting a clear view of Ray rubbing the back of his own neck and loudly complaining about whiplash. 

"Hey, can I leave my phone in the car to charge? It's almost dead," Gavin asked. 

"That's why you shouldn't be fucking around on it so much," Michael countered, looking at his own phone that was charging. There were no new messages, so with that he unplugged it before dropping it in the center console. 

"You're not taking it?" Gavin raised an eyebrow as he plugged his phone in, tucking it out of sight under the seat.

"We are stopping here to sleep only, I don't see the point of bringing my phone up just to get woken up because someone has a stupid question that needs an answer."

Turning off the car before hopping out, he couldn't help but crack a smile as he looked at Joel. He looked tired, annoyed, and if he were a character in a cartoon you'd be able to see the smoke shooting out of his ears. Letting out a wide yawn, Michael patted his shoulder with an open palm. "Come on man, time to crash." 

"Shut the fuck up," Joel grumbled, following behind as Ray just laughed. By the time Gavin trailed into the lobby as well, he was teamed up with Jack, the two of them talking as Geoff looked ready to fall over and Ryan fiddled with his wallet idly. 

Not even bothering to consult everyone else, Gavin walked up to the front, offering the woman behind the counter a large grin. "Hello. We need seven rooms, just for tonight. Any possibility that they could all be in the same hall?" 

The girl was young, maybe nineteen. Black hair, big eyes, the works. Kinda cute, too. She blushed the moment Gavin opened his mouth. "Let me see what we have," She smiled, beginning to tap away at the computer in front of her. For some reason, it was annoying as hell to Michael. He zoned out slightly until Gavin turned to look at him, offering a skeptical look before smiling widely and giving a thumbs up. 

It was then that the auburn haired man realized he was the only one really paying attention to the conversation. Looking around, the entire group had dissipated; Geoff was practically passed out on one of the lobby sofas, Ray was teasing Joel off on the side while the older of the two maintained a stiff middle finger held between them, and Jack and Ryan were playing some game that involved catching the complimentary hotel mints in their mouths. From the cheer that burst forward, it appeared that Jack had won. 

Michael noticed that Gavin had been right; the place was actually pretty nice. Dark colors, wood floors, big windows, even though it was small. Kinda cozy. It even looked like a log cabin in a weird way. Eventually noticing that there was another free couch, Michael trudged over, planning on sinking into the cushions and never getting up again. Just before reaching it, however, his shoulder was grabbed. 

"Uh, problem." Brow furrowing, the older of the two turned around, being met with an almost worried Gavin. "They only have three rooms in the same hall. It's not as big of a hotel as I thought." 

Sighing, Michael scrubbed a hand over his face. "You've got to be kidding me. Different floors, then?"

"That's a no go. There are only about twenty rooms in the entire place and a lot of them have been booked for some rally that's showing up tonight."

"So we're going to have to fucking share? Seriously? We all just spent 14 hours in a goddamn car, no one wants to have a cuddle buddy." 

"Just listen! One of them has two queensize beds and the others all have king. So there doesn't need to be cuddling, unless you're into that sort of things with other blokes." 

"Who's sleeping with who then, genius?" 

"Uh. . . Hey! How about the cars we came in?" Raising both of his eyebrows, he supplied a reassuring smile. "You and I share a room, Ray and Joel share a room, and Geoff, Ryan and Jack share a room."

"Dibs on my own bed," Geoff called into the couch cushion, pushing himself to sit up. "Now Gavin, lead the fucking way because I want sleep." Turning around half heartedly as Gavin began walking towards the elevator, Geoff called together the rest of the group with a, "Hey assholes, rooms." 

~~~~

"Did anyone even bring their bags up?" Joel asked, kicking off his shoes as he stared down the bed. It was huge, covered in white blankets, and looked fucking perfect right then. "Or are we all just literally crashing?"

"Did you see a bag? No? Then i'm guessing it's a pretty clear cut picture." Ray slipped off his glasses before collapsing against the bed, letting out a groan of relief. "Dude, you gotta try this shit."

Not even bothering to respond, Joel dropped against the bed as well, curling under the blanket tightly. It smelled like bleach and lilacs, which oddly made him want to sleep more. "No shit. Now go to fucking sleep." 

"Hey, isn't that a book? 'Go the Fuck to Sleep', I mean?"

"Yeah, I wrote it. You're in the dedications. It's even a picture book, so you can understand it better." 

"Aww, for me? You shouldn't have." 

Ray let out a surprised yelp as a hand shot out, blinding managing to hit him in the mouth. "Ray."

"Fine, fine," He muttered, pushing Joel's hand away as the older of the two chuckled. Cracking an eye open, Joel looked up at his friend. 

"Wow, that easily? Maybe I need to hit you more."

"That is either a kink, or abuse." After a short pause, Ray gave a wink. "Make up your mind soon, alright?"

"Go to bed, Ray." 

~~~~

"Holy shit he wasn't kidding." Raising both of his eyebrows, Jack nodded his head over to where Geoff was spread eagle across the bed, already snoring softly. 

"Didn't think he was. I don't think he's ever been awake for that long and sober. I'd be angry too." Chuckling, Ryan pulled off his shoes before lifting up the blanket, sliding under carefully before sinking and letting out a sigh.

Following suit as well as setting his glasses off on the end table, Jack propped his head up on his hand before getting a serious expression and lowering his voice dramatically. "So are we gonna talk about boys and paint our nails now?"

Ryan burst out laughing, earning an annoyed noise from Geoff. Jack joined in as well, the two of them settling down only after a few minutes.

"Go to sleep, dumbass," Ryan managed to say, still grinning.

~~~~

"Hey Michael. Michael. Miiichael."

"Jesus, what do you want?" Turning around, Michael's face shifted from annoyed to completely blank in a second. Gavin was sitting with his back against the headboard, clad in a baggy tee shirt and jeans. Grabbing the corner of the blanket before throwing it lightly so it opened up the bed more, Gavin pursed his lips dramatically. 

"Wanna join me?" He teased, his voice thick and slow as he raised an eyebrow. He managed keep a straight face just as long as Michael did before they both began laughing, Gavin curling up as Michael grinned.

"Dude, shut up and go to bed, I need to sleep." Slipping off his jacket and kicking his shoes off, he sat down on the bed before pulling his feet up, tangling himself with the sheets. 

"Alright, fine. But thanks for being my bed buddy."

"Anytime, Gav."

"Next week after work?"

"Kinda gay, Gav." 

"Fine, killjoy."

~~~

Warmth. So much warmth. And clean blankets, and cuddling, and smoke-

Wait.

Joel's eyes fluttered open. In front of him he could tell that there was a few wisps of smoke, comparable to the amount a cigarette would give off. This was confusing, seeing as neither him nor Ray smoked, and Ray was still wrapped in his arms. So there wasn't a way that-

Wait.

"Ray, what the hell?" Joel asked groggily, unwillingly pushing the younger man away as he forced himself to wake up more. "I'm not a teddy bear." 

Ray simply let out a low grumble, sounding oddly disgruntled as he sat up. "Not my fault the moment you fell asleep you curled around me like a fucking octopus. I even accepted it so you could sleep longer." Glancing up at the clock on the wall, he pointed out, "See? It's been five hours and you slept like a baby." For a second there was silence before Ray sounded a bit more cautious, "Hold on, is there smoke in here?"

"That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure. What do you think it is?" Looking around the room, Joel's eyes eventually fell on the door, watching as smoke curled from under the frame. 

"Who knows? Ten bucks says it's some dude lighting up a cancer stick who was too lazy to step outside downstairs. Or it could be smoke from the fiery passion of my desire for you, who knows? "

Joel was barely listening, watching as more smoke spilled in and the air became a bit hotter. The teasing joke went unnoticed as Joel's heartbeat quickened. "Ray?" He asked cautiously, rising to his feet.

"Yeah?" The younger asked through a yawn, stretching. He watched as Joel walked over, touching the metal handle before his hand flew back and he let out a small yelp of pain.

"The doorhandle is burning hot."

Ray looked confused for a second before waking up a bit more, the sleepy calmness of the place dying out.

"I think the place is on fire." 

~~~~

"HEY LOVEBIRDS MIND GETTING THE FUCK UP?" The blankets were ripped off of Jack and Ryan as both of their eyes shot open, Jack immediately beginning to cough. He didn't realize that Ryan was curled against his back until he accidentally elbowed him, both of them groaning in pain.

"What the hell did you do?" Ryan asked, managing to roll to a sitting position as he watched smoke spill in from the door frame and vents.

"I didn't do dick, the place is on fire," Geoff sounded only vaguely panicked until he cleared his throat, a firm tone setting in. "I tried to open the door to go get a soda from one of the vending machines and nearly burned my fingerprints off." 

"You're serious?" Ryan paused for a moment before stuffing his feet in his shoes, looking around. Digging in his pocket, he paused for a second before patting the rest of his pockets with a sigh. "Can't find my phone, I must have left it in the car. Do you guys have yours?"

"Mine's in the car, I put it in my bag before we came up," Jack admitted.

"I've got mine." Fishing out his own phone, Geoff typed in 911 as he began to pace around the room. The moment he was connected, he was spilling out the location and details, causing Jack to sigh.

"Is this a joke? I thought these things happened in James Bond movies and books, not for real."

"Don't worry, man, we're gonna get out . I'm sure Geoff isn't the first to call the police, there were people down in the lobby." 

The room fell into an awkward lull as Jack and Ryan stopped talking, watching as their boss paced the area. After a few minutes, Geoff just hung up, typing in a different number. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack asked, looking surprised and slightly annoyed. "What about the police?" 

"I'm calling Griffon, the fire department is on its way," He soothed, holding the phone to his ear and a hand up in a surrendering position. "I wanna warn the rest of the crew." Jack merely sighed as Ryan and he began to gather up their belongings.

Geoff tensed up at the sound of his wife's tired voice. "Geoff? You guys almost here?" 

"I-" Pausing, his brow furrowed before continuing. "Was calling to say that we stopped at a hotel, we'll be there tomorrow."

"You could have sent a text, you know," She chuckled, yawning by the receiver.

"Yeah, that was stupid. Must be tired."Smiling tightly, Geoff glanced around himself before squeezing his hand by his side. "It's late, though, and you guys have probably been setting up. I'm gonna go, alright? Love you, tell Millie I love her."

"She knows that, and I do too, but love you too." Griffon yawned once more before making a vague kissing noise. "Night," She said before hanging up. 

Ryan had paused to listen, and now just look slightly confused. "You didn't tell her?" He asked, watching as Geoff tried Ray's number. 

"No. There's no reason to freak her out over this, ya know?" All three of them fell silent before Geoff pressed send, waiting for just a moment before hearing it go straight to voicemail. "Son of a bitch." Hanging up, he tried Gavin. 

"How the hell are we gonna get out? We're on the third floor." Ryan began to pace, a hand running through his hair. 

"And hotel windows don't open either," Jack pointed out the moment Geoff's eyes flitted towards the glass. "Or at least, they're not supposed to."

"Well they're glass, so they'll break." Hearing the same robotic voice telling him to leave a message, Geoff threw his phone against the wall with an annoyed grunt. Walking over to the wall that Ray and Joel were on the other side of, Geoff banged loudly. "You guys okay?!"

"Geoff?" The faint reply came out, causing the boss of the group to let out a sigh of relief. "We're fine, but there's a fire."

"No shit Sherlock, why do you think I'm not walking over to your room? You need to break the window and find a way out, alright? How bad is it over there?"

"Not too bad, Just a little smoke. You?"

"There's a ton in here, so the fire's got to be further down the hall." He paused. "Wait. If you guys only have a little then-" 

The cut off response caused Joel and Ray shared a confused look. If they'd seen the other side, they would know that Geoff was running for the far end of the hotel room, beginning to bang on the wall connected to Michael and Gavin's room. "Guys? Guys?!"

~~~~

"Come on, it's alright," Gavin managed to cough out, draping the wet rag over his mouth and breathing in a semi clean lungful of air. He passed the second cloth over to Michael, who tied it over his mouth and nose. They'd both woken up coughing, the room hard to see through and even harder to breath in. They'd managed to stumble into the bathroom, where Michael had instructed Gavin to make the makeshift gasmasks. 

"Follow," Michael ordered, his voice sounding hoarse from all the coughing. Reaching out, his fingers tangled with Gavin's as he hauled him back in the room, where the door to the hallway was beginning to blacken around the edges. Michael could see flames licking from under it as well. Letting go of Gavin, he gave a simple order, "Find the window." With that, he walked into the smoke, ducking low as he looked for the coat rack that was placed next to the door. The roar of the fire was deafening, causing Michael to wince. 

He remembered it from when they first came in. In fact, his jacket would have been hanging there if he'd cared to give a second shit. What he didn't remember until it was too late, however, was that the thing was made out of metal. His hand reached out and wrapped around it to haul it back with him, only for his skin to give off a strong burning smell and copious amounts of pain., "FUCK." Snatching his hand back, Michael continued to swear under his breath, looking at the injury closely. All the skin on his palm was pale white and shiny. With that, he began to look around for something to grab the rack with, seeing as they still needed it to break the window out.

From across the room, Gavin was crouched low to the floor, watching Michael's feet move frantically across the ground. Soon enough, though, they disappeared behind a swirling cloud of black and grey. "Michael?" He called out, pulling in a ragged breath from behind the rag. Wiping at his eyes as sweat from the heat spilled him to them, he felt his chest tighten. "Michael?!"

"Stop squawking, I'm here," Dragging the comforter, sheets and cover for the bed, Michael made his way into Gavin's sight. Wrapped up in the comforter, the metal coat rack sat, the material around it discolored. "Help me with the mattress."

"Why?" Gavin asked, nearly tripping as he walked forward to help his friend. At this point there was fire that was actually eating away at the door, and both of the men were sweating heavily. 

"We need something to land on." Grabbing the corner, Michael began tugging it to the window, while Gavin simply lifted it. Dropping it with a grunt, Michael held his hand awkwardly by his side. "Tie these together at the corners, like they do in the movies, got it? We need something to use as a rope." 

"What are you going to do?" Dropping down, Gavin began tying efficiently, much to Michael's surprise. Each knot looked sturdy as well. From outside the room, the crackling of the fire grew even louder as they spoke.

"What else is there to fucking do?" Grabbing the edges of the blanket, Michael managed to pick up the coat rack without touching the metal, walking over to the window. "Please work," He muttered before rearing back, slamming the heavy base into the glass. 

~~~~

"Throw the mattress down there? That's your brilliant fucking plan? If we jump three stories and land on a piece of foam, we'll still break every bone in our bodies." Joel was beginning to panic. The room was filling with more and more black smoke, and both Ray and himself had their tee shirts pulled up over their mouths and noses. 

"It's the best I have!" Ray's eyes were tinted red and his hands shook slightly, but his tone remained solid. "All I know is that Geoff disappeared, our phones are dead, I don't know what's happening with Gavin and Michael, and if we stay in here we're gonna die." 

Joel looked at Ray for a moment, some of the fear seeping out of his expression. "We're not gonna die," He promised, laying a solid hand on Ray's shoulder. His eyes widened when Ray's eyes began to well up. Realizing this, Ray let out a cough, wiping at his eyes.

"Fucking smoke," he blamed idly, turning back to window. "We could make a rope or something, but I don't think our sheets would hold."

"It's worth a shot." Walking around the room, Joel paced before grabbing one of the bedside lamps, ripping it away from the wall socket. He didn't think twice as he walked over to the window, bashing it in.

Surprisingly, the sound was deafening. Glass littered the floor and poured out the hole in the window. Joel immediately stuffed his head outside, pulling his tee shirt away from his mouth and dragging in a deep breath before letting out a chuckle. "See? Nobody's going to die, we're fine." Still using the lamp, Joel hit out all the spare shards of glass before taking a pillow case, draping it over the bottom ledge. "We're gonna be fine." 

~~~~

"There isn't anything in here we can use?" Geoff groaned, covering his face as he stood by Michael and Gavin's wall. He'd been trying to break through it, shattering a chair in the process, but to no avail. He'd tried to go out to the hallway to get one of the fire axes, wanting to break down the barrier and help his friends, but the door was hotter than hell as it was. 

"Geoff, there's nothing we can do, I'm sorry." Setting a hand on his shoulder, Ryan began to pull Geoff over to the window, where two mattresses sat on the ground below the window. "We need to get out, alright? Michael and Gav are fine, I promise." 

Geoff knew it was a lie; with how hot the wall had been getting, there'd be no way they'd even live if they weren't outside soon. "Okay," He croaked out, feeling sick. His friends may be burning to death a room away, and he couldn't get there. Scooping up his (now cracked) phone, he pulled himself over to the window. 

Beginning to grab onto the tied together curtains that they were using as a rope, Geoff's head snapped up at a cracking noise. "What was that?"

All three men listened for a while longer, before a loud boom echoed through the building, causing the structure to shake.

"Fuck."  
~~~~

"Gav?! Gavin, please, come on you fucker, wake up!" Michael was shaking as he grabbed the beam, the wood sticking in his hands as he began to pull it off of Gavin's ankle. They'd been on their way back to the window when a beam had fallen from the ceiling, hitting Michael over and pinning down the Brit. 

Letting out a groggy groan, Gavin pulled his legs up to his chest, allowing Michael to drop the piece and collapse against the floor. A few drops of blood hit the ground, but he ignored it. Right now he was pulling Gavin to stand, dragging him over to the window. "Come on, we need to get out of here." 

"I know, I know." Coughing at the smoke and now having a black line coloring his face, Gavin looked at Michael with a fearful expression. "I think I broke my ankle." 

"You didn't break it, the building did, now get down the rope." Michael swiped Gavin's hair out of his eyes, his own face contorting into pain and fear. The back of his head was bleeding, his hand was swelling, but he could deal. It was just until they got outside. "Go down, yell when you get there, and I'll follow." 

Gavin didn't wait another moment. Grabbing the sheets, he slipped out the shattered window, wincing as he got cut by a rogue piece of glass before hurrying to propel down the side. He felt like vomiting at the fact that he was putting all of his trust into knots that he learned when he was eight, but shook it off. A bit less than a story up, he jumped off, landing on the mattress with a thud and getting the wind knocked out of him. 

"Gav?" Michael called out, peaking out the window.

Gavin stood, shaking from the sudden cold as all the moisture on his skin finally served in cooling him down. He barely managed to get a breath in before he was walking towards the window, dragging the mattress with him. "Come on!" Gavin yelped out, watching the flames as they consumed part of the roof before ripping the rag away from his mouth. The skin around it was only slightly less blackened than around his eyes. 

Nodding, Michael followed Gavin's tactic, tucking his feet out before grabbing onto the sheets that they'd used. Beginning to slide down, he heard a groan before the building shook, practically watching as the ceiling in their room collapsed. "Jesus fucking christ." Shoving away from the wall, Michael only got down to the second story before he watched fire pour out of their window. 

Within a moment, the sheets were eaten away, and the gamer was falling. A yell was ripped from his throat before he collided with a mass of bone and flesh, landing both of them on seven inches of foam. 

Fighting to get in a deep breath, Michael looked down at the Brit under him, coughing thickly. Reaching up, Gavin pulled the rag down from Michael's mouth before letting it fall around his neck. The two of them were completely winded, had blood on them, covered in soot, and yet Michael doubted that he could be happier.

"Caught you," Gavin managed to gasp out, giving a dumb smile that looked even whiter with all the soot that was staining his face. 

Blinking a few times, Michael let out a laugh that was only moderately manic before kissing Gavin once, his lips coming away with slight smudging. Gavin hardly seemed to care, continuing to grin like an idiot. Sitting up, he yanked Gavin into a hug, still sucking in deep breaths of fresh air. "We're alive."

"Bloody straight we are." It was hard to talk, but Gavin managed as he wrapped his arms around Michael's ribs, gripping him like a vice before tucking his head against the crook of Michael's neck. "Thank you." 

"You're fucking welcome." Holding Gavin to him tightly, he let out a ragged breath. "Glad you're okay, buddy."

They sat there for another moment before they heard a shout, looking up. Geoff's head was poked out of the window, one over from theirs, and for being in a building that was burning to the ground he looked way too happy. "You're alive!" He yelled down again, laughing. "You assholes, I thought-"

"Geoff, can we talk to them when we're not nearly dying?" Ryan wheezed out, standing the furthest away from the window. Their room was now completely filled with smoke, and none of them could see the other. Reaching out, Jack blindly grabbed Ryan's hand, holding onto him tightly. 

"Here, we should give them this." Sucking in a deep breath only for it to come in raw sounding exhales, Michael stood, dragging Gavin with him. Well, tried to. Gavin was limping, refusing to put hardly any weight on his ankle. Reaching back down, the two of them hauled the mattress over, putting it on top of the other two right under Geoff's window. "Get down, we're gonna get Ray." 

It was then that the second boom sounded, causing Ryan to yell out, "Holy fuck, the ceiling's gone."

~~~~

"Joel!" Ray sounded startled as he turned around, looking at the new barrier. Joel had been going over to pull the blankets off of the bed, and now there was just burned timber. 

"Ray?! Are you alright?" Joel sounded far away. 

"I'm fine. Are you hurt?" 

"No, just scared shitless. Ya know, the usual." Ray accidentally cracked a smile before correcting himself, listening as Joel continued. "Can you still get out?" 

"Yeah, the window's right here, can you get through?" Ray began looking at every piece, looking for a break. It was shards of splintered wood and metal, not something that he wanted to mess with. But Joel was on the line, so quite frankly he'd prance through the stuff if it meant getting them both out. 

"Not that I can see." The silence between the two of them was overwhelming as the flames roared on, beginning to light up the hole that now existed in their ceiling. 

Joel swallowed thickly before his voice poured over the noise of the fire. "Uh, dude? I don't think there's any way I'm getting through this."

"Yeah you are, it's gonna be fine. There has to be a way around it."

Shaking his head as he began to observe the barrier, Joel sighed. "Not gonna happen."

Ray was quiet for a moment before wiping the sweat out of his eyes, swallowing thickly. "What now?"

Standing a bit straighter as he watched the door next to him begin to burn, Joel set his jaw. "Ray, there's something I need to tell you."

"No." The younger was wide eyed as he shook his head, "You tell me whatever you need to tell me when we get out."

"I'm not getting out, Ray!" The older snapped back, causing the loud room to become silent. "I can't get out." The smaller area began to fill with smoke a bit more rapidly, causing Joel to duck down.

"Then I'm coming to get you." Ray sounded completely resolved as he began pulling at random pieces, not noticing that his hands came away bloody or burned. He had one focus; find an opening.

"Ray, there's no point, just get out." From far away, Ray could hear gasping coughs coming from his friend.

"No, fuck you, I do what I want. YOLO, right?" Beginning to grin as he worked, Ray pulled at a large piece of timber, only managing to move it slightly. 

"Exactly, you dick. YOLO, you only live once so don't die in a fucking hotel fire." Joel let out a familiar sigh, the same sigh that sounded every time Ray began arguing with him over something petty. "Get the fuck out." 

"Geoff's my boss, not you, now come on. At least try."

"Ray." His voice was dead serious. "I want you safe."

"How romantic. I want you alive," He retorted, using a falsely airy voice as he batted his eyelashes. He continued to work, his eyes spilling over at the pain in his hands. Pulling on the piece, he heard a loud groan as the mass of rubble creaked. Seeing a small crack, he stuck his hand through. "See my hand? Push on the wood under it." 

"If we weren't in this situation, I could make at least twelve jokes out of that." Grabbing the hand in front of him, Joel rolled his eyes, fingers brushing away some of the blood. "You fucking dumbass, your hand looks like shit." Joel's foot pressed against the piece directly below their hands, pushing with all his strength. 

The entire pile collapsed and compacted, leaving a small hole over the top. Both hands separated and flew back to their respective people, barely dodging as piles of metal and wood filled the original opening. Peaking his head over, Ray let out a loud cheer before bursting into another vicious fit of hacking and coughing, even as he smiled. "Sup?"

Joel couldn't help but break into a grin, managing to give off a nonchalant shrug and a small, "Nothing much." Crawling through the opening with a sheet in one hand and a blanket in the other, he made the stupid choice of getting hopeful. "See? I told you everything would be fine." However, the smile died the moment he yelped out in pain, tumbling down the pile and onto the floor in front of Ray. Both of the cloth items stayed draped down over the side, leaving a trail leading to Joel.

"Hey!" Dropping down, Ray felt a rush of hot air hit him as he crouched next to Joel. The older of the two was beginning to bleed from a gash in his side. It wasn't deep, but it was long, stretching along half of his stomach and trailing partially around his back. Looking up, Ray could see the offending piece of metal, blood still on it. 

'Son of a bitch," Joel gritted out, his hand pressing at the cut.

"Damn dude, as if this wasn't difficult enough." Sliding an arm under Joel, Ray hauled him up as Joel yelled out, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Let's just get out." Joel leaned on Ray as they hobbled over to the window. Looking out, Ray grinned.

"Look who it is, our very own Michael. We thought you were fried," He called down, laughing as Michael frowned.

"Ray, as much as I'd love to kick your ass, you really need to get down here." Shifting his feet, Michael watched as Gavin limped over to Geoff, hugging him tightly while Jack helped Ryan get down the rope. 

"Jesus, fine, fine." Walking back over, Ray plucked up the two blankets carefully, watching as fire began to eat away at the mass of wood. Within a few more minutes, their 'rope' was long enough to reach the ground. "Thank god for the blankets," Ray commented, earning a grumble from Joel.

Ray passed the rope to Joel, who looked thoroughly unamused. "Haha," He stated stiffly.

"What?"

"Go down, Ray."

"You're bleeding like crazy, get down there."

"You first."

"No, you first."

"I want you safe, not up here fucking around while I'm jumping out of a building, and knowing you, you'd do it."

"I'm not getting any safer with you not getting down the sheets and making us stand here longer."

"Jesus Christ you two are an old married couple. Joel, just get down here." Geoff was standing below their windows, black streaks gracing his tee shirt and his hands placed firmly on his hips. 

"I hate you people," Joel sighed. Pushing his feet out the window, he let out a small yelp as he pulled his side, his hands tangling with the makeshift ladder. 

"You'll be fine," Ray said in the same tone Joel had been using minutes before, smiling.

Glaring at him over the ledge, he muttered a small "Shut the fuck up" before disappearing, leaving Ray alone. 

~~~~

 

Gavin watched with interest. His ankle was throbbing slightly, but he was guessing it didn't hurt that much due to the adrenaline. Limping over to Michael, who was close to the pile of now four mattresses, his eyes trailed back to to Joel as he reached out and laced their fingers together. Glancing over, he frowned momentarily before reaching up, touching the back of Michael's head. "You're bleeding."

"What?" Reaching up with his burnt hand, Michael ran his fingers through his hair before frowning when they came away red.

"And you're burnt? What the hell, Michael, how did you get that much damage done?" Looking around, he let go of Michael's hand before hobbling off, coming back nearly a minute later with a partially singed sheet. Ripping from the small holes burnt into it, he came up with a swatch of cloth and a strip. "Hold this to your head," He muttered, passing over the larger piece as he began to go to work bandaging up Michael's burn.

Michael merely smiled.

~~~~

"Dude, sit still or you're gonna regret it." Geoff had wrapped a long strip of one of the sheets around Joel's torso, right over his cut. With a pen that he'd found in his pocket, he began to twist the material into a makeshift bind until the ambulance got there.

"But I can't see him, is he alright?" Turning to look back at Ray, who was only have way down the building, Joel winced at Geoff tugged the material awkwardly. Turning around the voice actor glared at his boss.

"He's peachy, in fact he's blowing kisses to you right now." Funnily enough, Geoff wasn't kidding about the last part. "Now sit still or you're fired."

~~~~

From far off, sirens began weaning into the silence of the night. "How far off do you think the nearest actual firestation is?" Jack asked Ryan, both of whom were watching as Ray began swinging on the rope in large arcs, which was causing him to get chewed out by Joel from below. 

"I don't think there are any around here. I know there's a town called Sioux Falls that's pretty big but it's about 50 miles east." Ryan cleared his throat thickly, scrubbing at his eyes. "While Geoff was losing his mind, I was looking for a place to camp out before Gavin beat me to it. And brought us to this gorgeous and wonderful hotel. How did we live without it?" 

Chuckling, Jack looked away from the scene in front of him; Geoff finishing off Joel's bind with the taller of the two chuckling and yelling up to Ray, who was acting ridiculous as he saluted midswing, and Michael standing pin straight as Gavin used him as a crutch, his arm wound around the Brit's waist. All on the backside of a burning building that was lighting up the entire area, along with the grassy hill that both of them had settled on. Wrapping his arm around Ryan's shoulder, he patted his arm with a smile. "We're all alive still, so I guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah," Ryan copied the action, his hand patting Jack's shoulder as he laughed, "I guess."

~~~~

Ray dropped down to the mattresses with a large grin plastered on his face, his glasses falling crooked as he hit against the padding. And before he could even push himself to stand, he was pulled up by two oversized hands.

Thinking Joel was pissed, Ray held up his own hands the best he could before he was even standing fully. "Whoa, Jolly Green Giant, I'm sorry I was dicking around, I-"

"I hate you," Joel said as he pulled Ray to his chest, wrapping his arms around him protectively. "You dumb shit, you could have been hurt. What right do you have swinging around like a half assed Laura Croft? Not to mention that your hands are already bleeding from earlier, and-" 

Surprisingly enough, Ray wrapped his arms back around Joel's ribs, even if he was smiling while Joel continued to run his mouth. "Joel." He was ignored as Joel didn't even waver. 

"You should have gone down first, that was I could have assured you wouldn't be fucking around like I said you would, you - ow!" Joel glared down at the gamer when his side was hit intentionally. "What?" 

"Thank you," Ray said, actually sounding sincere for once as he grinned up at his friend.

Joel paused for a second before looking confused. "For what?"

"I dunno. All I know is that we both got out of a burning building without anything too bad happening."

After a moment, Joel allowed himself to smile lightly. "Technically I should be thanking you. You're the one who got me out from the wall of metal and death." 

"Wait, that means I saved your life." Frowning for a moment, Ray tapped his finger against his chin before his eyes went wide. "I saved your life. You're my bitch forever now!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, what kind of logic is that?" Joel asked, his own eyes widening in something akin to horror. "I don't owe you dick." 

"Joel Heyman is officially my bitch and I will never be convinced otherwise." 

"Go to hell," Joel commented lightly. 

"Come with me?" The tone that Ray used made Joel pause for a second before his slight smile turned into a smirk.

"Question:" Geoff rang in, not allowing Joel to respond, "did this fire have magical properties and turn everyone gay or am I the only one noticing this?" As he spoke, the sirens got a bit louder.

"Not everyone. Gavin and Michael and Ray and Joel. That leaves three straight dudes," Jack called back, ignoring Joel's sputter of protest.

"I wouldn't mark you two off of the gay list yet," Geoff admitted, shrugging before turning back to Joel. 

"Who said I was even gay for Ray? I feel like I should have a choice in this." Ray nearly burst out laughing at the fact that Joel's fingers were currently brushing rythmatically against his side even as he said this. 

"Dude, you've been hugging him and flirting with him , that's kinda gay."

"Shut up, Geoff," Joel retorted, not able to help the small laugh that followed.

"And oh Joel, didn't you have something you wanted to tell me?" Ray asked, arching both eyebrows with a ridiculous smile.

"What did he want to tell you?" Geoff asked, hands going back to his hips as he began to smirk. 

"I, uh-" Joel swallowed thickly before letting out an over dramatic sound of surprise. "Look, guys! The firetruck and ambulance are here, we should talk about all of this later, when we're not all bleeding and in need of oxygen tanks." 

"But you said-"

Scooping Ray up bridal style and earning a yelp from the younger of the two, Joel began to walk around to the front of the building. "Shut up Ray." 

"Watch your side!" Geoff called out, pretending not to notice as a Ray pressed a kiss to Joel's cheek with a large grin. Turning back to Michael and Gavin, Geoff held up a hand, stopping them from continuing to walk towards the front of the building. "Michael, I don't think I need to even give you any warnings?"

"No sir," The man replied, offering a cheeky grin that caused Gavin to smile as well. "I'll have him home by ten every night, only holding hands and no kissing until the sixth date."

"Good." Clearing his throat, he dropped his hand before waving towards the ambulance. "Go get yourselves patched up."

Waiting until Jack and Ryan walked past him, Geoff pulled out his phone before typing in a familiar number, smiling when he heard a groggy, "Hello?" from his wife. 

"Hey, babe," Clearing his throat, Geoff scratched the back of his head as he looked up at the burning hotel. "Funny story for you. . . "


End file.
